One of my other jobs is helping small business owners create what I call “education marketing” systems. I’ve helped a number of clients spread the word about their expertise and along the way assist their customers get what they want. It’s a classic win-win.
I’ve repeated the process over the years and love to watch the results. It continues to work and if you ask me, content marketing will always get better results then a lot of the newer concepts that have turned up.
My favourite strategy these days is blogging. A blog is basically an article that talks about something specific in your business (it can be anything). And the more you write, the more likely it is that new customers will find you in the search engines. My motto is simple: The more you tell the more you sell.
But blogging has one terrible disadvantage over all the other “newer” and sexier strategies. It’s slow. It takes time to write and many business owners hate to write. So it gets put off or it gets done poorly because the distraction of the instant hit is so strong. I’m amazed at how many biz owners don’t tell their story and definitely don’t take the time to differentiate themselves from all the other competition. Could there be anything more important?
I haven’t suddenly turned this into a business blog. There are some lessons to be learned here as our golf game mimics much of what happens in everyday life.
Golfers get distracted by the hit of the quick fix. Golf magazines have almost exclusively sold copies because of the tips contained within and many golf pros have worked on the formula too – they give the student a few fast ideas and send them on their way.
But it’s all shortsighted if you ask me. The golf-tip mindset promises a lot but delivers little.
Automatic Golf requires commitment and discipline. You have to turn up and be prepared to play your way. You have to avoid the constant noise and stick to your guns and have a never quitting desire to do it your way. It takes patience. Along the way you’ll be tempted to stray but those that hang tough get the ultimate reward. A consistent and rewarding golf game.
My most popular golf article generates 1000+ new visitors each month. It was written years ago and it keeps working day after day. It costs me nothing. The return on this one article is miles better then any paid advertisement can give me. It has taken time and effort but I’m now starting to get the benefit from all of these golf blogs.
An Automatic Golfer can turn up and play above average golf without a worry in the world. Something more remarkable could turn up at anytime. There’s little stress and he certainly don’t need to go looking for his swing on the practice tee. He plays consistently and can walk from the course with more energy and excitement than he entered. The automatic golfer has maximised his potential for success and it’s all far easier than the alternative.
Final point: The best time to start Automatic Golf (or blogging) was yesterday (or last year or last month). But right now is the next best option. Just don’t be in a hurry…
8 Comments
Scott Barrow
June 21, 2013“Automatic Golf requires commitment and discipline. You have to turn up and be prepared to play your way. You have to avoid the constant noise and stick to your guns and have a never quitting desire to do it your way. It takes patience. Along the way you’ll be tempted to stray but those that hang tough get the ultimate reward. A consistent and rewarding golf game.”
Cam thanks for the conviction and consistency in your message.
In relation to the quote above, the only thing I’d like to add here (which you have also said many times) is the approach you are advocating is not only about some payoff in the future. It’s first and foremost about the experience right now, of being in the present moment and playing the game of golf like a young kid would – purely, curiously and at their highest potential.
So there is the instant “payoff” of a present moment experience (where our best performances and most satisfying experiences lie) and, if we are able and remember to practice this time and time again, external indicators like ball striking/control, score/handicap/results may change in the way we would like. But, if I’m a golfer who can only commit on the promise of future rewards, then I’ll never get there. In fact, I’ve just created my own self imposed torture devise.
It’s like you say with your 3 round challenge. If a keen golfer does your 3 round challenge successfully and comes back to you asking “That was good, what’s next?”, your answer is always “There’s nothing next, you just keep doing it.” Funny how this links to J. Rose’s recently quote on his playing process eh?
Cameron
June 21, 2013Scotland: I enjoy your input and appreciate your feedback. I think it’s time for you to write another guest post – the last one (I need to find it) was a winner…
There certainly is an instant payoff. The enjoyment one gets from playing freely is hard to match. I’ve had countless golfers drop by, apply some ideas and come back to me and say,
“I can’t believe how good this felt”
“It was so much easier”
“I always knew I had a better game, thanks for helping me find it”
“My golf game just became a whole lot easier”
It happens all the time. And there really is nothing more for the golfer to do. There’s no magic trick or anything else to do but PLAY. We’re all GURUs or (Gooroos), we just need to believe it.
Many will jump on the JR bandwagon and all the magazines will have an analysis of his swing technique and show his “magic” move or his latest swing cue. Most of it is rubbish. I will yell until I’m blue in the face that JRs success was more to do with playing freely and having a clear intention then his golf swing. His golf swing happend as a result of the process. Over and out.
Lukey
June 21, 2013I have found with the magazines they can be great sometimes for a quick fix and thus you then get on the try this try that roller coaster which for a short period of time becomes really good but then the inevitable happens and the game goes awry and no matter what you do you just can’t fix it, so you ask for help and you are told to go back to basics but by this time you have forgotten what the basics actually are. Then we come to AG and away we go but all of a sudden things are starting to go wrong (over thinking, distractions etc.)and then you think I will have to go back to basics pick the club required, hit it, accept the result and move on. Now how easy is that and that is why I will stick with AG. Thank you for your input to Scott.
Cheers Lukey
adam
June 21, 2013Learning happens when you dont think about it. I was using my guitar this morning and played without giving any care about what i was playing. It ended up sounding like jazz and blues without my conscious effort to even bother listening to what i was playing. My dad loved it. Learning, especially when applied to real life such as learning to walk. You fall down you get back up and try again until you walk three feet. But even then you’re still learning because you have so many things you can do with you’re legs you would never guess you could do like living running and jumping.you can’t do these things when you’re first learning to move your legs.its a process.you learn to walk then run then jump then kick then fun faster walk faster kick harder jump higher. So its a process.
Cameron
June 23, 2013Yes, it’s a process and we get a bit better each time. It’s nota race. And as Scotty says in the comments, this can be a FUN time too…
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